


A Friend in Need

by EdwardHyde10



Category: Sidneyverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:35:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28157682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdwardHyde10/pseuds/EdwardHyde10
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	A Friend in Need

A Friend in Need  
By  
Edward Hyde

“Oh,” Mrs Craven spoke into the phone, “I see. Well is there no way you could… Oh, okay. No, no that’s perfectly understandable.” She paused, looking anxious, “Yes a refund to my card is fine. Thank you for letting me know and I hope you get things sorted out soon.” 

“That didn’t sound good!” her husband put a hand on her shoulder. “What’s the matter?”

“That was the butcher.” she sighed. “Apparently his supplier has gone bust and done a runner with everyone’s money so he’s got no pig for us today.” 

“We could try ringing around some farms?” Mr Craven suggested, trying to be helpful. “Perhaps there’s one that could…” 

“Nobody’s going to have a spare pig they can deliver within an hour.” She sighed. “We’re just going to have to call the girls’ parents and ask them to pick them up early. It’s not like we have anything to feed them and until the refund comes through on the pig, we can’t afford to take all six of them out for dinner.”

“Carrie’s going to be really upset,” Mr Craven frowned, expressing his understanding of the situation rather than accusing anyone, “she’s been looking forward to that hog roast for months!”

“Oh crap!” Mrs Craven slapped her hand to her forehead. “Do you think we’re going to be able to get our money back on the spit rental? You know, since it’s not out fault we can’t use it?”

“We can always just stick the noisiest kid on it!” Her husband laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “Mind you, that would probably be our Carrie!” 

“Most likely!” She chuckled, “And even if not, I hear most parents frown upon their children being cooked and eaten!”

“Well that’s just selfish!” Mr Craven laughed again, putting his arms reassuringly around his wife and hugging her tight. 

The idea of cooking their daughter or one of her friends on the hired spit had been a running joke in the family since the party had been agreed some months earlier and there had been no end of teasing when the apparatus was delivered and set up, and not just the parents teasing their daughter. 

As Carrie’s friends had arrived for the party, she had proudly shown them all the rather vicious-looking spit and warned them that whoever lost this or that game would be ending up on it. A couple of the girls had looked nervous but most had spotted immediately that it was a joke and found the idea hilarious. 

“I guess I should start ringing the parents.” Mrs Craven sighed. “Don’t tell the girls just yet. They’re enjoying the hot-tub for now, let them have their fun. Once I know everyone’s on their way we can explain to Carrie and maybe order pizza or something for just the three of us? We can still give her a fun evening.” 

Carrie Craven was turning eight and had invited her five best girl-friends over for a party in the garden, the climax of which was supposed to be a hogroast with a whole young pig! Carrie had seen something similar at a Medieval Fair they had been to the year before and was fascinated by the idea, begging her parents to arrange one for her birthday. 

The Cravens were not a wealthy family by any stretch but neither were they normally short on cash. The money for Carrie’s birthday party had been carefully set aside at the start of the year and they had enjoyed a nice holiday as well as having a spa bath installed in the bathroom upstairs which was something the parents had been wanting ever since they moved in and Carrie thought was awesome! Within the family it was known as the hot-tub, even if that was not technically accurate. A few unexpected car bills and a repair to the central heating system, however, had left them pretty low on reserves. They weren’t about to lose the house or anything so drastic but had reached the stage of needing to watch the pennies somewhat.

Although they did not have a pool in the garden, all the girls had been instructed to bring swimsuits and the highlight of the afternoon so far, once the presents were excitedly unwrapped then removed by Mrs Craven to a safe distance, was a huge water-fight with sponges, water balloons and Super-Soakers which had resulted in much hysterical shrieking and giggling. After that, using the excuse that they were already soaking wet and in their swimsuits anyway, Carrie had asked if she could take her friends upstairs to try out the hot-tub. Although a little nervous about what state she might find the bathroom in afterwards, Mrs Craven had agreed and the girls had run happily up the stairs, leaving a trail of wet, grassy footprints on the stair and hall carpet behind them. At least, the parents reasoned, it was keeping them occupied until it was time for them to get dressed and have dinner. Now, of course, a last-minute change of plan was required.

“Should I go start taking the spit apart?” asked Mr Craven. “At least they let us know before I poured out and lit the charcoal. I was just about to do that!” 

“No, let me make the calls first,” his wife replied sadly. “Don’t want them looking out the window and wondering why you’re taking it apart. Let’s wait ‘til they’re on their way to pick the girls up then I can go tell them. We’ve got all evening to take it apart, it’s not like it’s going to need cleaning now after all!” 

“True.” Mr Craven shrugged, hating the idea of his daughter being disappointed. “I’ll go put the kettle on.” Knowing that she shouldn’t put it off any longer, Mrs Craven grabbed the list of emergency contact numbers for their young guests and dialled the one at the top of the list. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Bailey’s mum? This is Amanda Craven.”

“Hi, yeah I’m Bailey’s mum, Jane. Is something wrong?” 

“Everyone’s fine, don’t worry, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to cut the party short. Would you be okay to come and pick Bailey up in about half an hour? Really sorry if this messes up your plans.”

“Hmm,” the young mother on the other end of the phone pondered. “I’m at work for like another two hours. I could see if my mum or dad could come get her. What’s the issue? Has something happened?” Mrs Craven explained the unexpected emergency with the pig, how there would now be no food for the children at the party. Jane paused for a short time before making her suggestion. “You could always cook Bailey if you like? Solve both our problems!”

Mrs Craven laughed.

“Yeah we’ve been joking about that! The girls have been teasing each other all afternoon about who’s going on the spit!”

“I’m serious!” Bailey’s mum persisted. “I bet if you go ask her right now she’d be well up for it! She’s been saying she wants to be cooked ever since she saw some poster for a dance troupe at a cannibal restaurant.”

“Well, I don’t know if…” Mrs Craven was slightly lost for words. “I know that’s legal now but I don’t actually know anyone who has… Are you really serious?”

“Deadly!” Jane assured her. “In fact I’ve been promising Bailey I’d find out what she needs to do to volunteer but I keep forgetting to get around to it and I think she’s getting kinda pissed at me. Thinks I’m dragging it out on purpose! If you cook her at your party then she gets her wish, I don’t have to leave work early and everyone else goes home with full bellies! Sounds perfect to me!”

“Well I suppose so, yes, if you’re really sure!” Mrs Craven was rather shell-shocked. This was not at all the response she had been expecting when she made the call. “You really think she’d be willing? I don’t think I could cook someone who was crying and scared!”

“Go ask her if you don’t believe me!” Jane laughed, “But I guarantee you right now that, as long as the other girls are up for it, you’ve got yourself a willing little piggy!”

“Well, I guess all I can say is thank you?” Mrs Craven was overwhelmed. “Do you want to come and say goodbye to her before we… you know?” 

“Nah, that would involve leaving work early anyway which was kinda the point of this in the first place! Plus she’ll be too excited and impatient to get butchered, she won’t want me hanging around slowing things down with tearful hugs and stuff like that. One favour ‘though, if you don’t mind?”

“Sure?”

“Save me some of her meat! Stick it in some Tupperware or something and I’ll pick it up when I would have picked her up from the party. If that’s okay?”

“Of course!” Carrie’s mum replied, still trying to process the conversation. “Do you want us to save her head for you?”

“No that’s fine, I wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway! Let the kids play catch with it or something then stick it out for the birds. I think she’d like that idea. Well,” she spoke briskly as if the conversation were about arranging to pop over for a cup of tea rather than agreeing to the death of her only daughter, “my boss is glaring at me for being on the phone too long. I guess I should get going! See you later!” With that, she was gone. Mrs Craven stood staring at the phone for a few moments before her husband snapped her out of her trance.

“Something up?” He handed her a cup of tea. She recounted the conversation she’d just had with Bailey’s mum and explained that Bailey would likely be very willing to stand in for the missing pig.

“Wow!” Mr Craven exhaled and brushed the hair away from his forehead. “Good job I didn’t take the spit apart then! The pig was supposed to come all prepared but I guess I can cut her head off and gut her in the garage. I’ve got that wood axe, that should be good enough, and we’ve got plenty of good kitchen knives, how hard can it be?”

“Maybe you should see if there’s a tutorial or something you can watch first?” His wife suggested gently, knowing her husband’s habit of going at things without preparing properly or knowing what he was doing. The phrase ‘How hard can it be?’ had prefaced many a DIY disaster in the past! “Wouldn’t want to mess it up and spoil the meat!”

“Okay, okay.” He sighed, knowing that she was right. “You go talk to the girls and I’ll see what I can find. You sure you’re okay with this?”

“I wasn’t at first,” Mrs Craven admitted, “but if she’s really as keen on the idea as her mum says then I guess everyone wins? I’d better check that the other girls are okay with eating their friend before we do anything irreversible.”

“So go chat to them,” he smiled, propping his phone against a salt-shaker on the kitchen table and sitting down to watch the first of three instructional videos he’d managed to find, “I’ll be here!”

“Hey, girls! I’ve got a bit of a surprise!” Mrs Craven pushed open the door of the bathroom, hearing the happy giggling and splashing of the girls inside. Upon entering the room, she got a little surprise of her own! The swimsuits the girls had worn for the water fight were in a soggy heap in the middle of the floor and the six youngsters were enjoying the hot-tub in their birthday suits!

“Oh, I see!” Mrs Craven laughed as they stopped their splashing play to turn and look at her as she came in. “This is a birthday party so you all decided to wear your birthday suits?” 

“That right!” Carrie, the birthday girl, grinned cheekily at her. “This IS a bath after all, isn’t it?”

“True!” her mum chuckled and shook her head. At least she knew Bailey wasn’t going to be self-conscious about being nude if she did agree to be cooked! How was she going to bring this up, she wondered? There really wasn’t a lot of time to waste. Perhaps the best thing would just be to explain the situation and ask outright. If Bailey’s mum had been right about her young daughter’s desires, she shouldn’t be too reluctant to offer herself. 

“So,” she began tentatively, “we have a bit of a problem and I’m hoping someone’s going to be able to help out. As you know, we’re all looking forward to a hog roast this evening and everything ready outside, we were just waiting for the pig to be delivered.” The six nude little girls nodded, Carrie looking slightly worried. “Well we just had a call from the butcher and he can’t get us a pig today.” Carrie’s mouth opened in silent horror, the other girls mostly looked sad or angry. “So,” Mrs Craven took a deep breath – this was it! “We’ve decided to roast one of you instead! Any volunteers?” Four out of the six girls, including Carrie herself, shot their hands up instantly amid much giggling. She was relieved to see Bailey’s hand among them.

“Now I know you’ve been teasing each other and joking about it all day,” she explained gently, noticing that the two who had not put up their hands, the sisters Jessica and Rebecca, coincidentally the oldest and youngest at the party, were looking scandalised at how readily the others had volunteered, “but this is for real. If one of you is willing, she’ll have her head cut off then cooked for everyone else to enjoy.” Three of the four raised hands went down slowly, awkwardly, but Bailey who was sat on the edge of the tub shot both hands up and bounced on her cute, round bottom like a pupil eager to be picked to answer the teacher’s question. 

“Thank you, Bailey,” Mrs Craven sighed with relief. “It looks like we’ve found a new piggy for our dinner! Why don’t you come over here?” She picked up a warm towel off the rack and held it out. Bailey, who had turned eight around five weeks earlier, practically sprang out of the tub and ran to her. 

“Now I have to ask,” Mrs Craven looked at the remaining girls, all watching Bailey being dried with a mixture of awe, fascination and hunger, “does anyone have any objection to eating another girl? We wouldn’t expect anyone to do something they don’t want to. If any of you don’t want to join in eating Bailey we can call your parents and ask them to collect you. If none of you want to, then we simply won’t go ahead and Bailey can go home to her mum!” At this, Bailey looked up at her sharply, a look of shocked betrayal on her face. “Don’t worry,” the kind woman knelt down next to her and smiled, “it doesn’t look like anyone’s got a problem with the idea!” 

“What about you Jessica?” she addressed the nine year old directly, “Rebecca? You didn’t seem so keen on the idea of any of you being cooked just now. Will you be okay watching us cook Bailey and eating some of her afterwards?”

“Oh yeah!” the pretty red-head explained with a smile, “Just Becca and I went to a party last year where our two cousins got cooked so we know it’s something that really happens and thought it was weird everyone was volunteering as a joke!”

“Ah!” Mrs Craven smiled, “Well that makes sense. This certainly isn’t a joke.” She turned to the small blonde in the towel, “You know that, don’t you, Bailey? What we’re talking about is for real?”

“I know!” Bailey managed not to roll her eyes, worried it might get her into trouble and taken off the menu, “I really want to be cooked and eaten! Ask my mum if you don’t believe me!”

“Oh I already have!” Mrs Craven chuckled, “She said if I asked for volunteers you were quite likely to offer and that it was fine with her if that was what you really wanted.” Bailey beamed with happiness, delighted to be finally getting her wish and with the fact that her mum was behind her. 

“Doesn’t look like anyone has a problem with it!” Carrie grinned, folding her arms on the side of the tub. “Roast Bailey for dinner it is!” The other girls cheered and gave their selfless friend a round of applause. 

“I need to take our piggy down to your dad now,” Mrs Craven explained, “so he can cut her head off and gut her ready for cooking. If he’s managed to work out how to do it, that is! The rest of you should get out and get dressed in about half an hour then you can come down and watch her cook. She’ll need to cook for an hour or so before she’s ready to eat but it should be fun and interesting to watch!”

“Wait!” Bailey interrupted, dropping the towel and displaying her cute little body for her friends. “I want everyone to get a good look and decide which bits they want so they can argue about it now and sort it all out rather than later when my meat’s going cold!” She turned on the spot, holding her arms out and slightly up like a gymnast. The girls all crowded to the front of the tub to get a good look. Sure, they had all been naked together for the past thirty minutes so did not exactly have any secrets in that sense but this was different – now they were looking at her as meat!

Even Mrs Craven had to admit that she looked delicious! She was short with a roundness that stopped just short of chubby. Her legs were shapely and her bottom round. She could tell that she would have grown up to be an incredibly sexy young woman if she had the chance, but that was not going to happen! She didn’t know what the girls would choose but she certainly had her eye on a nice juicy slice of her rump!

“Come on!” She chuckled after four or five minutes of Bailey’s showing off had elapsed, “Let’s get you downstairs and prepped or we’re never going to get to eat!” Bailey waved goodbye to her friends who waved back, cheering once more and shouting thanks and compliments to her. As they left the bathroom and Mrs Craven closed the door behind them, Bailey looked up at her a little nervously. “What is it, sweetheart?” she asked, “Having second thoughts?”

“Oh no, nothing like that!” Bailey assured her, “I just have a kinda big favour to ask!”

Sam Craven had never considered little girls sexually attractive. In fact, it had never really occurred to him to think that they might be. He was vaguely aware that there were those out there who did but, like most people not afflicted by that particular curse, he had never given the matter more than a few moments thought. There was something about the instructional videos, however, that was definitely pushing buttons he never knew he had!

He wasn’t really sure what he had been expecting when he searched for tutorials on how to kill and butcher a young girl – some kind of animation or series of line-drawings with an audio commentary perhaps? What he found, he realised, technically made more sense and was what he should have been expecting but he reminded himself that this was a world he was entirely new to and deserved to cut himself a little bit of slack for his naivety.

After watching all four videos he was reasonably sure that he could do a competent job of gutting and cleaning his daughter’s little friend but there was something else too. All the videos showed the death and evisceration of very real and very willing young girls. The youngest he found was a girl of about six and the oldest looked to be thirteen or fourteen. Most started the video in the nude, stood smiling next to the butcher who, more often or not, seemed to be their father, whereas one undressed in front of the camera, somehow seem more naked than the girls he had never seen dressed. He found himself rewinding to the first couple of minutes of each video again and again. There was something about the mixture of cuteness, vulnerability and the knowing way they looked at the camera, all of them willing participants in these videos that they clearly knew the intended content of, that he was finding incredibly arousing.

Mr Craven prided himself that he was old enough to avoid “awkward boners” but there was definitely a semi pressing uncomfortably inside his underpants. He wondered if he had time for a tactical trip to the downstairs toilet before having to carry out his duties but, just as he was pondering this, he heard footsteps on the stairs. He closed the app on his phone – If Bailey was even slightly nervous or unsure about what was going to happen to her, the videos would not be helpful. Shifting slightly uncomfortably in his chair, he hoped he would be able to maintain his dignity while killing the little cutie and promised himself a little relief as soon as the job was done. 

“Guess what?” Mrs Craven spoke happily, steering the naked little girl into the room ahead of her by the shoulders. “Bailey here has agreed to be our dinner! Isn’t that kind?”

“Oh wow, for sure!” Mr Craven grinned at the little girl, already feeling the semi become more of a three-quarters. He was pretty sure that if his daughter and her other four friends were to troop down the stairs stark naked right now he would think very little of it but there was something about knowing a girl was destined to be meat that flicked a switch in his brain. The videos had nothing on the reality of the cute little blonde eight year old standing in nothing but what she was born with, smiling expectantly at him, ready and willing for slaughter. “That’s a really kind thing you’ve done Bailey,” he smiled at her, “I hope the other girls thanked you?”

“Oh, they did!” His wife smiled, “But Bailey has a little favour she wants to ask you. I said it was okay by me as she was doing such a big favour for us but it had to be your choice. You ahead, sweetheart, ask him!” She gave Bailey a little pat between the shoulders to encourage her. The naked little girl stepped forward, clasping her hands a little awkwardly, and explained her request. 

“Well,” She blushed a little as she spoke, something that Mr Craven found incredibly endearing, “I’ve never had a daddy, you see, and when Mummy brings her boyfriends home she always sends me to my room and I’m told I have to respect their privacy so…” she blushed more deeply and bit her lip, “I’ve never actually seen a man naked, not a grown-up anyway. And I wondered if you’d let me see you before you kill me? Just so I’d know what it’s like?”

Sam glanced up at his wife, wondering for a moment if this was some kind of prank or test but she just smiled and nodded encouragingly at him, urging him to say yes the way she did when their own daughter asked for something and she’d agreed in theory but said it had to be run by him.

“Well of course, sweetheart, if that’s what you really want!” He smiled at her. “I can’t say I have the best body or anything like that, it’s been quite a while since I did any kind of working out, but if you want to have a look then it feels like the least I can do.” 

“I don’t really care how you look,” Bailey assured him, “I want to know what a normal man looks like. It’s not like I have much to compare you to anyway. I know sometimes men in movies take their shirts off but I’ve never seen an adult…” She broke off, blushing even deeper than before. “…willy.” She whispered the last word.

“Well I’ve seen two or three,” Mrs Craven laughed, “and I can assure you my husband’s doesn’t disappoint!” Now it was his turn to blush. “So are you ready to kill her now or do you need a little more time to prepare?”

“I should go set things up in the garage.” He explained. “Why don’t you take Bailey into the garden and let her have a good look at the spit? Explain any of the pieces she’s not sure about, that sort of thing? It should only take me ten minutes or so to find what I need. Plus, if I’m going to be naked I don’t need to worry about getting my clothes dirty, eh?” He winked at the little girl and she giggled charmingly. “See you in the garage in about ten minutes then we can get started!” 

In the garage, Sam stripped out of his clothes. There was plenty of dust and general dirt in there so he figured he might as well minimise the mess. It was not exactly a sanitary environment for slaughtering food but, he figured, they would not be in there too long and it was not as if Bailey’s meat was being stored in there. Luckily, he had an unopened package of transparent plastic dust-sheets left over from when they had decorated Carrie’s bedroom so that would help. Having pushed all the general clutter aside and placed his clothes safely on top of the chest freezer, he unfolded the old picnic table he sometimes used as a work bench. It wasn’t designed to take the weight of an adult but Bailey was fairly small so it should be study enough if he needed to lay her carcass on it. 

The axe he used for chopping firewood was in the corner, stuck into the wooden stump he used to place the smaller logs on. He figured it would do just as well as an executioner’s block. Once everything was where he needed it to be, he covered all accessible surfaces with the clear plastic, making him feel like he was in an episode of “Dexter”! The selection of knives he had brought from the kitchen were laid out on top of the plastic on the chest-freezer, next to the pile of his clothes which was beneath the covering. 

There was no drain in the garage so he pulled out a couple of buckets which he reasoned should be enough to hold most of the blood. What to do with it afterwards was another matter but he was sure he’d think of something. All the videos had suggested hanging the body upside-down for draining and gutting so he rummaged in the box of camping equipment until he found a sturdy nylon rope. The metal beam across the ceiling should, he decided, be sturdy enough to support Bailey’s carcass. He would need to hose to clean out her insides properly but decided that could be done outside once the butchering was complete.

Feeling satisfied, Sam Craven stood back and admired his impromptu slaughter-room – it was certainly more than fit for purpose. The activity and practical focus had helped to ease the horniness he had felt in the kitchen and he had almost forgotten that he was naked! There was a tentative knock on the small door. 

“Come in!” He called. This time, his wife entered the room first while Bailey waited outside a little timidly. 

“Just wanted to check everything was ready.” She smiled, giggling a little at seeing her husband stood naked in the middle of the repurposed garage grinning like a little boy who has just built a swing out of a piece of board and length of old rope. “Come on in, sweetheart!” 

Excitedly, little Bailey bounced into the room. Her eyes went wide when she saw the axe and chopping block and even wider when she saw her executioner stood waiting for her in the same outfit as she wore. 

“Come closer if you want to, take a look.” Mr Craven smiled warmly, trying to reassure her. He couldn’t help but notice the way the area around her puffy little pussy caught the light and glistened – she had clearly been excited by her inspection of the spit. He could feel the blood starting to head south once more but he maintained his self-control. The small meat-girl stood in front of him and looked him up and down, he eyes setting on his penis which, while not erect, was somewhat inflated and flatteringly large. 

“Can I touch it?” She looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes.

“Umm…” He glanced up at his wife who gave him the same encouraging nod she had given in the kitchen. This was a step beyond what he had prepared himself for and he swallowed hard before smiling and giving his reply. “Sure, sweetheart. Go ahead!” 

Bailey reached forward and stroked him with the tips of her fingers. She then slipped her hand behind and lifted it appraisingly as if trying to find out how heavy it was. Her soft touch and delicate handling was too much for him to bear and the erection he had been suppressing since the kitchen blossomed into full glory. Bailey gasped and stepped back in alarm as the soft, floppy appendage she had been investigating grew hard and stood up, seemingly pointing into her face.

“Sorry!” She gulped. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, no, nothing like that.” The rather embarrassed man assured her. “It just happened because I think you’re really pretty and have nice soft hands. It likes to be played with and that’s its way of telling you it wants to be played with some more!” Bailey looked at the proud member with curiosity, giving a little prod and seeing how it waggled from side to side but remained rock hard. 

“You know,” Mrs Craven bent low to speak quietly next to Bailey’s ear, winking at her husband, “among grown-ups its considered quite rude to make it do that then not play with it properly. You don’t want to be rude, do you?” Bailey shook her head.

“What do I do with it?”

“First, put your hand around it like it’s a bottle of Coke.” Mrs Craven instructed. Her husband could not quite believe what was happening but decided, since his wife was clearly on board, he might as well go along with it and enjoy himself. “Good, that’s it!” she spoke reassuringly as Bailey did as she was told. “Now, slide your hand up and down, gently at first then you can get a little faster!” 

The small girl tried her best but the angle was difficult and her movements clumsy, although Mr Craven loved the feeling of her hand on his cock. Seeing that it was not going too well, Mrs Craven leant down and whispered in Bailey’s ear. The girl looked surprised for a moment then released her grip and stepped back. She looked hard at the throbbing penis before her as if making an assessment then apparently reached a decision. She licked her lips then stepped forward once more and took him in her mouth, rocking her head back and forth as she licked and caressed with her lips. It took all of Mr Craven’s willpower not to push the back of her head as far onto him as he could be she was only a little girl after all and he did not fancy the idea of her throwing up all over him, especially not now that he was so close!

“Good girl!” He coaxed, stroking her golden-blonde hair, “Keep going! That’s it! Just a little longer!” Bailey leapt back in surprise as he let out a load moan and exploded into her mouth but she did not spit out the warm, salty goop. Instead she swallowed by reflex and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. 

“Wow!” She gasped, after taking a few moments to recover. “Is that what Mummy does with her boyfriends?”

“Probably!” Mrs Craven pulled out a tissue and wiped the last of her husband’s spunk from Bailey’s chin. “That and other things a bit like it I should think. How did it make you feel? Did you like it?”

“It felt nice!” Bailey replied a little shyly. “It made my pussy tingle like it did when we were looking at the spit!” 

“Ah-ha!” Mrs Craven grinned, realising that her husband would need a minute or two to recover and compose himself after what had clearly been a quite explosive orgasm. “Do you know why that is?” Bailey shook her head, looking a little confused. “What do you know about how babies are made?”

“I know a man’s swimmers have to join with a lady’s egg.” Bailey furrowed her brow a little, trying to remember the lesson and educational video she had sat through a couple of months earlier. “The strongest swimmer gets to the egg first and that’s the one that makes the baby.”

“Do you know how the swimmers get inside the lady to find the egg?” Mrs Craven asked, surprised at herself but unable to deny how aroused she’d been watching her husband getting sucked off by the cute little girl who would very soon be “giving head” in an entirely different sense! Bailey shook her head again.

“They said they’d tell us that in Year Six.” She explained. 

“Well if we give him a couple of minutes, I’m sure Mr Craven would like to show you!” 

“Would you? Would you really?” the excited girl bounced up to the man who could not quite believe what his wife was suggesting but, after the experience he’d just had, was more than willing to go along with it. “Please! I’d love to find out!” Bailey persisted. He wasn’t even sure where the law stood on what you could or couldn’t do with a meat-girl since she was not technically a child or even a person any more, but as she only had a few minutes left to live, leaving his wife as the only witness, he did not see how he could get into that much trouble. 

“Of course, sweetheart.” He smiled at her and stroked her pretty round cheek as she grinned excitedly up at him. “If that’s what you want! It might hurt a little bit?” 

“I don’t care!” Bailey laughed. “You’re going to cut my head off right after anyway, aren’t you? So even if it’s the most painful thing ever, it won’t last for that long!”

“Very true!” Mr Craven laughed. “Usually I’d need a little longer after what we just did but I know we don’t have much time and your friends are getting hungry!” He knelt down and pulled her close to him, running his hands down her back and caressing her buttocks before giving them a squeeze. “These are going to taste so good!” He assured her. She seemed happy with the compliment. Slowly, he ran his hands all over her smooth, young body while his wife smiled down at them approvingly. “I want to bite these off right now!” he teased, stroking her nipples which, despite being small and mounted on an otherwise flat chest, had become hard. He leaned forward and give her left nipple a little nip with his teeth, making her giggle.

“These legs are going to be really tasty too!” He stroked her calves and thighs and, as he did so, could feel the blood returning to his manhood, making it hard once more. He could not believe how arousing he found thinking of and treating a little girl as meat! He buried his face in her soft round belly and pretended to nibble while caressing her behind once more. Without looking at her face to check that it was okay but feeling from both her body’s movements and involuntary responses that it was, he moved lower and began to kiss her smooth, plump vulva and pushed his tongue inside her gleaming wet little pussy and began to pleasure her, something he had always found very satisfying to do with his wife. 

The small girl gasped and moaned in pleasure. Satisfied that he was plenty hard enough to be able to do the job properly, he stood and picked her up before carrying her over to the table. He set her down and encouraged her onto all fours, her pert bottom facing him and her tender little opening at just the right height. A quick glance over at his wife confirmed to him that she was more than happy with what he was about to do but he wasn’t sure he would have been able to stop even if she had been glaring angrily. 

More aroused than he could remember being since his teens, Mr Craven slipped inside Bailey’s welcoming little cunt. At first he moved slowly back and forth then faster, pounding harder and more violently as she cried out in ecstasy. If she was experiencing any pain, if was eclipsed a hundred times over by the pleasure she was feeling. At first her held both hands on her hips but, as he began to pound her faster and faster, he reached forward with his right hand and took a firm grip of her blonde hair which was still fixed up from the bath and spanked her pretty little ass repeatedly with his left. 

She was already tighter than anyone he had been with before but there was still the unmistakable contraction as she came close to climax. Steadying his breathing and slowing his rhythm just a little so that he would not finish before her, Sam Craven waited for the telltale shudder through her body. When it came, he was left in no doubt as she screamed and arched her back, throwing her head backwards. Feeling like his obligation to his temporary lover was fulfilled, he began to pump harder and faster once more, prolonging her orgasm and pushing himself closer and closer to the edge until he felt the explosive force of his second ejaculation in almost as many minutes. He pulled out of the still rapidly-breathing little girl and steadied himself on the edge of the table. 

“Did you enjoy that, sweetheart?” Mrs Craven bent forward and wiped Bailey’s sweaty little face before giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead. Bailey nodded, still a little too breathless from her first ever orgasm to speak. “Good. You deserved a treat for being so kind and giving us your meat! But it’s time to get on with preparing you now. Are you ready?”

“Uh-huh.” Bailey managed, nodding again. Taking her hand, Mrs Craven helped the little girl down off the table onto her unsteady feet and led her to the chopping block. Mr Craven was mopping his own face and trying to clean up his nether regions a little, ready to concentrate on the big moment. Bailey knelt down and demurely placed her neck on the block. She held her breath, her body still quivering and hot from the afterglow of the sex as the naked man raised the axe high above her. She waited for the final blow but it did not come. Instead there was an insistent knock on the door. Mr Craven lowered the axe, just in case there was an issue – perhaps it was Bailey’s mother having changed her mind and come to rescue her daughter? He wondered, if that was the case, how she would feel about what had just happened and whether Bailey could be persuaded to keep quiet. Frustrated and irritated, Bailey sat back on her haunches and waited to see who was keeping her from her destiny.

The adults exchanged tentative looks and Mrs Craven went to investigate. She opened the door just a crack to see who was outside and was releaved but a little puzzled to see that it was Carrie and the rest of the girls from the party, wrapped in bath towels. 

“What’s the matter, honey?” she asked.

“Has Daddy killed Bailey yet?” Carrie asked nervously.

“No, not yet.” her mum replied.

“Oh just we heard a scream and thought we might be too late!” 

“No, that was… something else.” Mrs Craven tried not to blush. Watching her husband deflower the little meat-girl had been an amazing erotic experience but having to explain it to her own daughter was quite a different matter! “Why? Have you changed your mind about wanting to eat her?” She was stood with the door less than half open and her body blocking the other girls from seeing inside.

“Oh no, nothing like that!” Carrie giggled, trying to peep around her mother, “We just want to come and watch! Is that okay?” The five small girl looked up expectantly, their eyes full of hope and excitement. 

“Let me just check.” Mrs Craven stepped back inside and closed the door before turning to her husband. “What do you think?”

“Well, it’s not going to be pretty.” He glanced down at Bailey but she didn’t seem upset, more impatient to be getting on with things. “But I suppose they’re going to see her on the spit anyway. I should at least put my jeans on ‘though. Don’t want the other girls going home with any more stories than they’re already going to have. Can you throw them to me?” 

“Aww!” Bailey looked up and put on an exaggerated pout. “Bye-bye willy!” She leaned forward and gave Mr Craven’s now-relaxed penis a little kiss as if she were kissing a parent goodnight. 

“You really are too sweet!” He laughed, ruffling her hair before pulling on the jeans that his wife had thrown to him. “He’s going to miss you too!” Bailey giggled and looked pleased. “So you don’t mind the other girls watching?”

“No,” she grinned, “it will be nice to have more of an audience!” 

“Okay then!” Mrs Craven laughed, opening the door fully this time. “Come on in, girls! Just make sure she stand well back with me so you don’t get too messy!” The five towel-clad little girls trooped in and stood against the wall behind Mrs Craven. There was a clear view of the chopping block and their friend who knelt beside it. Bailey looked over and waved. They all waved back and blew kisses.

“Right, I guess this is really it this time!” Mr Craven made a quick glance to check that the first bucket was close at hand while Bailey positioned herself again. “You might want to close your eyes, sweetheart.”

“No.” Bailey replied confidently. “I’ve heard that a head that’s been cut off can still see and think and stuff for a few seconds afterwards and I want to see if that’s true! Too bad I won’t be able to tell you!” 

“Well that’s fair enough!” Mr Craven laughed, raising the axe. “Ready then? Shall we do a countdown, girls? FIVE!”

“FOUR!” Everyone joined in, including Bailey who was by far the most excited person in the room.

“THREE!” Bailey reached between her legs and slipped her fingers into her still-tingling little pussy. It did not feel as good as having Mr Craven’s cock inside her but it still felt so good. 

“TWO!” Mr Craven readied himself, the axe held high above his head.

“ONE!” Bailey cried out, experiencing her second and final orgasm just as the edge of the blade touched her delicate young neck.

There was a thud as the axe embedded itself in the wooden stump and, moments later, a second thud as Bailey’s head hit the floor.

The watching girls cheered as Bailey’s pretty little head fell to the ground and rolled a little before coming to a stop facing them. Her bright blue eyes were still moving around and her face wore a broad smile. Her mouth moved for a few moments as if she was trying to say something but very soon she became still and her eyes rolled back in her head. 

While the girls and his wife were occupied seeing how long Bailey would live detached from her body, Mr Craven was concentrating on the other part. As soon as her head was off, Bailey’s body rose up then slumped off to the side. He grabbed the first bucket and held it close to the stump of neck where her head had been, making a mental note to put his jeans in cold water to soak as soon as possible if he ever wanted to be able to wear them again. 

Luckily, Bailey had been a small girl and he was able to pick her up with one arm while holding the bucket in his other hand. Now that her heart had stopped, the blood had stopped pumping out of her neck so aggressively and was now trickling out like a leaky bottle. He knew from the instructional videos that he needed to hang her body up to drain out the rest. 

Gently, he laid the headless little girl down on her back on the table where he had fucked her so hard just minutes before. She looked even smaller now, so fragile and vulnerable yet beautiful and delicious. He couldn’t help running his hand over her rapidly-cooling body and slipping a finger inside her wet pussy one final time. He set the bucket on the floor so that any blood could drip into it then retrieved the nylon rope and began to tie it securely around her ankles.

“Can I pick it up?” Carrie asked her mum, seeing the now clearly dead head of her friend laying on the plastic-covered floor of the garage. 

“I don’t see why not!” Mrs Craven smiled. “Her mum said she didn’t want it back and just to hang it out for birds to eat when we were done with it!” Grinning happily, Carrie ran forwards and knelt down next to the head then picked it up carefully, delicately, as if it were made of porcelain. It was heavier than she expected, and felt cold and clammy. She brushed the hair away from Bailey’s face.

“She was so pretty!” she looked down at the head a little sadly for just a moment before grinning brightly once more. “I bet she’s going to be super-tasty too!” She stood up, the head in her hands like a trophy. Somehow she had managed to kneel on the bath towel and dislodge it so when she stood up she was stark naked. Her friends giggled at her unexpected exposure but she just shrugged. Blood from the head was oozing onto her hands and was likely to make anything she was wearing really dirty anyway so she might as well stay nude – it was nothing anyone in the room hadn’t seen before after all!

“You know what,” Mrs Craven retrieved the abandoned towel from the floor and turned to the girls, “that might not be such a bad idea! Why don’t you all give me your towels and go play outside? I don’t think the neighbours can see over our hedge.” Rebecca and another blonde-haired girl named Zoe happily dis-robed and handed over the towels but the other two seemed a little more reluctant. 

“Can we go put our swimsuits back on maybe?” Jessica asked tentatively, “or just get dressed?” She and the final girl, Amy, were glancing a little nervously at Mr Craven, although he was too busy with his work to really notice. 

“What’s the matter?” Zoe asked, “Are you too chicken to go naked?” 

“Yeah!” Carrie held up the head in case they’d forgotten. “We’ve already got a pig for the party, we don’t need chickens too!” The three naked little girls began to dance in a circle around their towel-clad friends, flapping their bent arms and making loud clucking noises. 

“Now come on girls!” Mrs Craven scolded gently, trying not to let on how amused she was. “That’s not very nice. If the girls want to cover up then that’s their choice. Mr Craven is here after all and they might not be comfortable being nude in front of him. Not everyone is so relaxed about their bodies. 

Zoe and Carrie hung their heads and looked a little sheepish but Rebecca lunged forward and pulled away her big sister’s towel before she had a chance to react. As soon as she could gather her wits, Jessica covered herself with her hands and glared daggers at her sister. Hearing the yelp, Mr Craven glanced over to see the embarrassed girl trying to snatch back the towel from her little sister without exposing herself. Even Amy, still firmly wrapped in her own towel, was giggling. 

“That’s enough!” Mrs Craven was actually quite angry now. She knew that girls that age loved to tease each other and there was usually no malice behind it but this actually felt quite cruel. She snatched the towel from Rebecca and gave it back to Jessica who turned her back modestly before wrapping herself in it once more. “Now you three, out you go! You two go up to the house and get dressed if you want to, just remember we’re going to be eating in a little while and you might drip fat on yourselves so probably best to go with the swimsuits rather than your nice party clothes for now. It’s a lovely warm afternoon after all!

With muttered apologies, the three naked girls left the garage, Carrie still carrying Bailey’s severed head. 

“You know what?” Amy shrugged, “What the heck! I think I’m going to join you!” She airily removed her towel and handed it to Mrs Craven who added it to the pile over her arm. 

“Good idea.” She smiled, “Can’t get your clothes messy if you’re not wearing any, eh? Don’t worry,” she reassured Jessica who was still clinging protectively to her towel, “nobody has to do anything they’re not comfortable with. This is a party and you’re supposed to be having fun! Go on,” she grinned, “go put that pretty swimsuit back on!” With a grateful smile, Jessica left the garage and ran in the other direction from the other girls, back into the house.

By now, Mr Craven had Bailey’s body hanging from the steel beam in the roof by the ankles. As the videos had suggested, he had cut off her hands too to give the blood more outlets to escape by and had the second bucket underneath, collecting the thick, dripping, metallic-smelling liquid.

“How’s it coming along?” his wife asked, setting the towels down on the chest freezer, gathering up the kitchen knives he had brought out with him and wandering over to get a closer look. 

“Just about ready to guy this little piggy I think!” He grinned. “Ah, thanks!” He noticed that she had brought the knives with her, saving him a job. “What are they going to do with the head?” He laughed, hearing the happy laughter of the girls playing outside. 

“Goodness knows!” Mrs Craven chuckled, “Play Piggy-in-the-Middle with it most likely!” 

“Doesn’t seem very dignified, somehow!” 

“I think Bailey was far less worried about being dignified than being delicious, don’t you?” She laughed. “Plus I didn’t see you worrying too much about her dignity when you were taking her from behind! Looked like you were rather enjoying yourself!” He blushed as he had in the kitchen, embarrassed at the feeling of having been caught-out. “Maybe you should take this up as a side-job?” Mrs Craven suggested teasingly. “Travelling slaughterman! What do you think? I bet at least eight out of every ten meat-girls would appreciate a good seeing-to before they get the chop!”

“Just giving her what she asked for.” He muttered sheepishly, studying one of the knives far more closely than he had any need to. 

“Sure, if she say so!” His wife teased, shaking her head in amusement. “I’d better go check on the girls. How long do you think it will be before she’s ready for the spit?”

“Ten minutes.” He replied. “Fifteen max. Depends if her insides look the same as the girls in the video or not!”

“I’m pretty sure all girls look much the same on the inside.” Mrs Craven chuckled.

“Let’s hope so! Well, here goes nothing!” He shoved the kitchen knife into Bailey’s belly, just above her vulva, or below it technically as she hung upside-down, and dragged it downwards until he hit the breast-bone.

In the bathroom upstairs, nine year old Jessica rummaged through the pile of swimsuits to find her own. It was new and she was rather proud of it – light blue with a swirling, green pattern that reminded her of seaweed. Wearing it made her feel like a mermaid! Finding it, she wrung it out over the now empty spa bath but it was still pretty damp. It would certainly not be comfortable to put back on, cold and clammy! But she heeded Mrs Craven’s warning and didn’t want to get her nice party clothes dirty during dinner or any of the games they were likely to play. 

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if she ran the suit under some hot water before putting it on? At least then it would be warm. But then the water would quickly turn cold and she’d be back where she started. Maybe if she hung it over the towel rail it would dry? She pondered this for a moment or two before realising that it would probably work but would take way too long – by the time she went down to join her friends, the games would be over, most of the meat gone and it would almost be time to go home. 

Sounds of happy laughter were coming from the garden. Jessica opened the bathroom window and looked out. The four girls were happily playing totally nude on the lawn, throwing Bailey’s head around to each other and looking as if they had just stepped out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting. Why had she been so against the idea of playing naked and free like them? The pretty red-head dropped her towel and looked at her own body in the mirror. She certainly had nothing to be ashamed of – she was neither chubby nor too skinny, reasonably tall and, although she was still a year or two from adolescence, had a pleasingly feminine shape. Unlike some girls her age, nobody would have to check between her legs to confirm whether she was a boy or girl!

Maybe she should just give in and go down in what God gave her? Even if Carrie’s dad were to take a look, what harm would it do? Plus she would only be one of five naked girls so it’s not as if all of anyone’s attention would be on her. Perhaps she would be making herself stand out more by being the only one to insist on wearing clothes? 

Very quickly, Jessica made up her mind. She grabbed a hair brush from where it sat on the edge of the sink and brushed out her long, red hair, loving the way the slight dampness made it curl ever so slightly. She checked herself out in the full-length mirror again. Even without the swimsuit she looked more like a mermaid than ever! With a happy giggle, she ran downstairs to join her friends. 

In the garden, Mr Craven was carrying the gutted carcass that had been Bailey out to the cooking area. He felt like he had done a reasonably good job of the gutting, considering that it was his fist time and he had never so much as filleted a fish before! She still needed to be cleaned inside, however, and for that he needed the hose. Fortunately, there was a tree close to where the spit had been set up with a branch sticking out at just the right angle. Using the rope which was still wrapped around the headless and handless girl’s ankles, he hung her from the tree and went to fetch the hose. 

Seeing what was happening, the four girls stopped their game and ran over to watch, Amy now carrying the head, cradling it like a baby doll. 

“Hey look!” She held the head up so Bailey could see, “There’s your body! Doesn’t it look delicious?” All the girls giggled and Mr Craven felt grateful for his jeans. He had seen Carrie naked plenty of times, since she was a baby right up to last week, but he had never seen her in quite the same way before, not to mention her friends! Perhaps it was his recent experiences with Bailey and he hoped the feelings would fade in time but, right there in that moment, he was finding the four nude little girls incredibly distracting!

“Hey girls, what’s going on?” Jessica bounced up to the group with a broad grin.

“Hey!” Her little sister Rebecca grinned at her, “You decided to stop being a chicken then?”

“Yup!” Jessica laughed. “Look!” She held her arms up and gave a twirl, “No feathers or anything!” 

“It’s a good look for you!” Carrie commented. “Perhaps you should wear that outfit more often?”

“Okay girls!” Mr Craven returned pulling the hose behind him, “You might want to stand back or you’re going to get splashed!” The girls giggled and he twisted the nozzle on the end of the hose and a jet of high-pressure water shot out. He sprayed the inside of Bailey’s emptied-out body cavity, washing away the last traces of congealed blood and other gore. “There we go!” He grinned at the girls, “One gutted and cleaned piggy ready for the spit! Hmm…” He looked at them, a cheeky twinkle in his eye. “Looks like you five are getting a little messy! Better do something about that!” Without warning, he turned the hose on them but adjusted to a fine spray rather than the jet. They shrieked with laughter and retreated to the other end of the garden, giggling hysterically as he chased them around with the hose, getting them even wetter than they had been in the hot-tub! There would be plenty of time for them to dry out in the afternoon sun!

Fortunately for Mr Craven, mounting the gutted and cleaned body of a small girl onto the spit was not so very different from mounting a pig carcass and he was able to follow the original instructions that had come with the spit. Very soon, Bailey’s cute little body was turning over the coals while her friends continued to play and frolic utterly unfettered in the garden. 

“So what are we going to do with her head?” Carrie asked when he parents had finished laying out the picnic table with bread rolls, crisps, salad and fizzy drinks to enjoy with the extra-special meat. “You said something about hanging it up for the birds?”

“Yes that’s right.” Mrs Craven smiled. “If we leave it out, the birds can come and peck at it and eat away the flesh then maybe we can make an ornament or something out of her skull? Decorate it and put a little candle inside or something?”

“You could keep her whole skeleton and use it for Halloween!” Amy suggested. The other girls all agreed that this sounded like fun. 

“So have you finished with her head?” Mrs Craven laughed, not quite believing the words that were coming out of her own mouth. “Shall we hang it up?”

“Yes,” Carrie held it out, “but put it somewhere she can still see she can watch us enjoying her meat!” In reality, Carrie understood that her friend was dead and that, if she was present at all, it was in the form of a ghost but it was hard to shake the idea that she was still seeing through her now-dull eyes and was able to understand what was going on.

“This looks like a good place, don’t you think?” Mrs Craven took the head over to the branch that her husband had used to suspend Bailey’s body from for cleaning. The girls followed happily and watched as she pulled out the hair grips letting Bailey’s long golden-blonde hair fall loose then parted it into two bunches and tied them together around the branch, leaving the pretty severed head swaying gently in the summer afternoon breeze. “There! Now she can watch you all enjoying your dinner!” She declared proudly. “And speaking of which, it looks like she’s nearly ready to serve!”

Golden-brown, crispy-skinned, headless and empty inside, Bailey’s cooked body was barely recognisable as human any more, she may as well have been a pig. But her meat was far more delicious than any pork any of them had ever tasted. It had the same basic flavour but a little sweeter and far more tender. The girls all sat bare-bottomed on the grass, munching happily, going back for seconds, thirds and even fourth helpings until all was satisfied. 

“It’s my birthday next!” Amy informed the group as they lay on their backs in a circle, happily digesting their friend and watching the clouds in the blue sky above. “I want to eat a girl too!”

“I think you can buy them.” Rebecca suggested, “Or see if you know anyone who wants to volunteer?”

“My parents couldn’t afford to buy someone, I’m sure.” Amy sighed. “How about one of you volunteers? You all know how delicious you would be now!” 

“Yeah right!” Jessica laughed yet she and every other girl there couldn’t help but ponder the idea. It could not be denied that girl meat really was delicious and Bailey had seemed so happy and excited. Perhaps being slaughtered for meat really was the ultimate thrill after all?

“I’ve got an idea!” Carrie sat up. “But it only works if everyone agrees!”

“What is it?” Amy sat up too, followed by the others. Mrs Craven who was supervising from a discrete distance while her husband dismantled and cleaned the spit was amused to see the grass patterns imprinted on their backs. 

“I’ve thought of a way to pick who gets cooked next, but everyone has to join in. You too, Amy! Else it’s not fair!”

“Hey but it’s my birthday party we’re talking about!” Amy protested. “What if I end up getting picked?”

“What’s more fun than being centre of attention at your own party?” Carrie reminded her. “You get to be cooked for all your friends to enjoy. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

“I guess…” Amy concurred, not sounding too convinced. 

“Perfect!” Carrie grinned. “Everyone else in?” The remaining three looked a little nervously at each other, none wanting to be deemed the only chicken for not wanting to join in the way Jessica had been for wanting to preserve her modesty. Little Rebecca was the first to agree, followed by her sister and finally Zoe. “Awesome!” Carrie clapped her hands together, delighted by the idea of the game she had just thought up. 

“Hey, Daddy?” She ran over to Mr Craven who had just finished wiping down the actual shaft of spit and sliding it back into its thick plastic bag ready for collection. For the moment, Bailey’s rather gory remains rested in an old plastic crate he had retrieved from the garden shed. They could decide exactly what they were going to do with them later. Mrs Craven had made sure to keep her promise and had wrapped a generous lump of rump meat in foil and it now rested in the fridge, waiting for Bailey’s mum to collect it on her way home from work. 

“Yes, pumpkin?” He asked, wondering what strange an unexpected request was going to be made of his next. So far, the day had been probably the least predictable of his life!

“Do you still have Bailey’s blood in a bucket?” 

“Well, yeah, but why do you want it?”

“For as game!” Carrie grinned. “We’re going to decide who gets cooked at Amy’s party!” 

“Are you now?” he chuckled, reminding himself that such games were not generally considered legally binding and he might as well let the girls have their fun. “You’re not going to try drinking it or anything are you? It will have gone really cold and gloopy and might have started going bad. It’s been sat in the warm air for at least three hours now.”

“No, nothing like that!” his daughter assured him. “I just want to hide stuff in it for people to pick out.” 

“Okay, I suppose.” Mr Craven laughed and shook his head. “Just make sure it’s not anything that’s going to get stained!” 

“Thanks, Daddy!” Carrie grinned before turning and skipping off merrily towards the shed. While her dad went to fetch the bucket, she rooted around looking for the box of half-sized snooker balls she was fairly sure were in there somewhere. Having found it, and trying to ignore all the cobwebs and goodness knows what else, she selected four red balls then, after pondering for a moment, one yellow. 

“Right, these are the rules!” She declared once all the game pieces were assembled. “I’m going to put these balls in the bucket of blood so nobody can see them. There’s five of us so five balls. We each take it in turns to pick out a ball but keep it in your closed hand until everyone has picked. Then we’ll spray the blood off and see what colour ball we each have. If you pick the yellow, you’re on the menu. Every agreed?” There were assorted nervous, slightly half-hearted murmurs of assent. “Oh come on!” Carrie coaxed, “This doesn’t work if we’re not all up for it. Let’s try again! Agreed?”

“AGREED!” the other four girls chorused with a fair bit more enthusiasm. Carrie dropped the balls into the bucket where they all landed with a gloopy plop before slowing sinking below the surface. To make sure that nobody could try to memorise where the balls had landed, she picked the bucket up and swirled it around, taking care not to slosh any of the blood over the side. The balls could be heard rattling around on the plastic bottom of the bucket. 

Since it was her idea, Carrie agreed to be first to pick a ball. Her dad had been right, the blood was cold and clammy and had started to separate. The lower she delved in search of a ball, the thicker it seemed. Eventually she found one and pulled it out. The blood made a slurping, sucking sound as she pulled her arm free. Jessica was next, followed by Rebecca, then Zoe and finally Amy.

“Everyone got a ball?” Mrs Craven asked, brining the hose over once more. They nodded and stood in a circle, their bloody hands outstretched to almost meet in the middle. Behaving with a little more restraint than her husband had done, Mrs Craven sprayed within the circle, rinsing the blood off. 

“Okay, how should we do that?” Carrie asked, “One at a time?”

“No, let’s do it all at once, on three!” Zoe suggested. 

“Okay then, on three it is!” Carrie took a deep breath. They all counted together.

“One! Two! Three!” 

The girls all turned their hands over and opened them so the minuture balls sat in the palms of their hands. Four of the girls let out a sigh, partly of relief but partly of disappointment when they saw the red ball in their hands but one let out a gasp.

“Jessica got the yellow ball!” Zoe pointed out excitedly. “How do you feel, Jess?”

“Um… proud, I guess?” Jessica laughed a little nervously. “You happy with that outcome?” She turned to Amy.

“Very happy!” Amy grinned excitedly. “Honestly, if I’d been allowed to pick, I’d have picked you anyway!” Jessica wasn’t quite sure how that made her feel but mostly she was happy with the compliment. 

“Hey, no fair!” Rebecca pouted. “You can’t just have Jessica for your birthday dinner!”

“Sorry,” Amy turned to her sympathetically, “but we did all agree. I know you’ll be sad to lose your sister but…”

“No it’s not that!” Rebecca cut her off. “Just we do everything together! If you’re going to cook her then you have to cook me too!”

“What do you say?” Jessica asked Amy, “Think you can invite enough people over to cook both of us?”

“I’m sure I can!” Amy beamed, wishing her birthday was tomorrow instead of weeks away. “But I do have a favour to ask.” She turned to Mrs Craven.

“My mum won’t have a clue how to prepare them and my dad hasn’t been to any of my parties since I was five! Do you think your husband would mind coming over and doing them for me?”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind!” Mrs Craven laughed. “In fact I’m sure he’d be delighted!”

THE END


End file.
